Bunnies & Fish

I can now, officially, say that I've spent a whole day out fishing in Exmouth. Right after moving in with Davo and Sandra last June they took me out for a little fish on the Gulf and I managed to catch my first fish since age 8 (shout out, again, to Uncle Jim and the Welcome Mat Flounder!). You might recall, dear readers, that it was not a most impressive fish. We spent a couple of hours out on the water and then headed in. A quick pleasure cruise, if you will. 

My first Exmouth fish, last July, hooked through the belly... whoops

Well yesterday I left my house at 6am (!!!) when my friend Frenchy came to pick me up, and we didn't get back to land til about 3pm when the wind came up and we made our way back to shore. In the in-between time, I had another round of fishing lessons. Frenchy's friend Ray has a really cool boat that he takes out. He's South African, so he learned to fish there, and he's also a lovely, patient soul. So he took me under his wing and taught me the difference between circle hooks and J hooks, explained why a well-baited hook should have multiple kinds of meat on it (and what order that meat should be attached), explained how to deal with a broken bilge pump when you're out on the water, showed me how to filet a fish, and, at the end of it all, said he'd be happy to have me out for another day of fishing. Bless him. 

It was a gorgeous day to be out, the wind cooperated all morning, and we only lost one really good fish to a shark. I managed to catch a few fish, including one that was actually worth keeping (a spangled emperor), I brought two sharks up to the boat (before we unhooked them and let them go), and didn't even get sun burnt thanks to my very professional looking fishing shirt that Boonie left behind in the apartment when he moved out and that I've claimed for my own!

My first fish of the day! (Ray: "Kate, it's not even worth keeping!" Me: "Okay, we'll throw it back but like, can you take my photo first?" Ray: "Okay, but hold it out so it looks bigger" What a guy!)

Frenchy fighting a shark

I caught a shark!

My first spango!

I'm not sure I'm ever going to be an avid fisherman (I look like I've been assaulted what with the bruises all over my legs from leaning against the side of the boat, and my arms from the rod jammed into my armpit), I got home last night and slept for 14 hours, and my fingers still smell like fish, but what a fun way to spend the day!

Did not realize fishing was a full-contact sport

A couple of weeks back I spent a day doing another sport I hadn't touched in years: golfing! The Wholesalers business in town sponsors a fundraising day at the golf course once per year and, best part, it's a costume event! My friend Stewie invited me to join his team back on my birthday in August, and we recruited two of the other Potshot girls, Mia and Chanel, to join. We weren't sure what costumes to wear until, like lightning, inspiration struck. Online orders were made, Channy's Mum shipped us some stuff from Perth, and anyway, that's how we won $150 in vouchers (and 2 boxes of chocolates!) for our incredible vision.

Channy, me, Stewie, & Mia

Hugh Hefner and his Bunnies

Sun safety is key

Stewie Hefner

Collecting our prize

Golfing is fun, y'all, but golfing in costumes and winning prizes is even better. The other four-some we golfed with was tons of fun, we only had to golf 9 holes (thank goodness, because it took us 45 minutes to get past the first hole!), and we all were very good about re-applying sunscreen so we didn't cook out in the sun. 10/10 would do again. Here's to next year's event!